LAPPEENRANTA-LAHTI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY LUT School of Business and Management
Master’s Programme in International Marketing Management
Eveliina Kantamaa
COMMUNICATING DESTINATION BRANDS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS – IMPLEMENTING INFLUENCER
MARKETING FOR DESTINATIONS
Examiners: Professor Olli Kuivalainen D.Sc. Heini Vanninen
ABSTRACT
Author: Eveliina Kantamaa
Title: Communicating destination brands through social media
influencers - Implementing influencer marketing for destinations Faculty: School of Business and Management
Master’s Programme: International Marketing Management
Year: 2020
Master’s Thesis: Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT 81 pages, 9 figures, 5 tables, 1 appendix
Examiners: Professor Olli Kuivalainen D.Sc. Heini Vanninen
Keywords: destination marketing, destination brand, tourism, influencer marketing, social media
Destination management organizations (DMOs) have recognized the power of social media as a channel to communicate their destination brands and the effectiveness of influencer marketing to support their marketing strategies. Prior research has examined the use of social media in destination marketing with the focus on consumer-generated content and analyzed how the DMOs communicate their destination brands on social media. This study aims to identify how DMOs implement influencer marketing within their marketing strategies, how collaborations with social media influencers support DMOs to reach their strategic objectives related to mar- keting and branding their destinations, and how the distinctive characteristics of destination brands can be communicated through influencers.
This study used an exploratory research design and six semi-structured interviews were con- ducted with representatives of Nordic and Baltic DMOs. The findings indicate that the tangible and intangible elements identified with the destination brand can authentically be communi- cated through social media influencers based on their personal experiences and interpretations.
By collaborating with influencers who have an established audience in a strategically important target market, whose personal brands align with the destination brand and can create effective storytelling, the DMOs can increase the awareness and attractiveness of their destination brand, reach target groups which they could not reach with their own communications and enhance the intended positioning strategy of their destination brand.
TIIVISTELMÄ
Tekijä: Eveliina Kantamaa
Tutkielman nimi: Matkailukohteiden brändien viestiminen sosiaalisen median vaikuttajien kautta
Tiedekunta: Kauppatieteellinen tiedekunta
Pääaine: International Marketing Management
Vuosi: 2020
Pro Gradu-tutkielma: Lappeenrannan-Lahden teknillinen yliopisto LUT 81 sivua, 9 kuviota, 5 taulukkoa, 1 liite
Tarkastajat: Professori Olli Kuivalainen Tutkijatohtori Heini Vanninen
Avainsanat: paikkamarkkinointi, paikkabrändi, matkailu, vaikuttajamarkkinointi, sosiaalinen media
Kaupunkien markkinoinnista vastaaville matkailuorganisaatioille sosiaalinen media on keskei- nen alusta markkinointiviestinnälle, jonka tukena useat organisaatiot hyödyntävät vaikuttaja- markkinointia. Aikaisemmat tutkimukset ovat keskittyneet kuluttajien väliseen, matkailukoh- teisiin liittyvään kommunikaatioon sosiaalisessa mediassa sekä analysoineet, miten matkailu- organisaatiot viestivät kohteistaan sosiaalisessa mediassa. Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena on kartoittaa, miten matkailuorganisaatiot toteuttavat vaikuttajamarkkinointia osana markkinoin- tistrategioitaan, miten yhteistyöt sosiaalisen median vaikuttajien kanssa tukevat matkailuorga- nisaatioita heidän strategisten tavoitteidensa saavuttamisessa sekä miten matkailukohteiden brändiviestintää voidaan toteuttaa vaikuttajien kautta.
Tämä eksploratiivinen tutkimus toteutettiin haastattelemalla kuutta Pohjoismaissa ja Baltiassa toimivaa matkailuorganisaation edustajaa. Toteutettu tutkimus osoittaa, että vaikuttajien kautta matkailukohteen brändiin liitettäviä aineellisia ja aineettomia piirteitä voidaan viestiä autentti- sesti, sillä vaikuttajat viestivät kohteista perustuen heidän omiin kokemuksiinsa ja käsityk- siinsä. Vaikuttajayhteistöissä on tärkeää, että vaikuttajan yleisö edustaa tavoiteltua kohderyh- mää, vaikuttajan henkilöbrändi ja kohteen brändi ovat yhdenmukaisia ja vaikuttajalla on kyky luoda sitouttavaa sisältöä tarinankerronnan avulla. Vaikuttajamarkkinointia hyödyntämällä voi- daan kasvattaa matkailukohteen brändin tunnettuutta, tavoittaa strategisesti merkittäviä kohde- ryhmiä sekä edistää matkailukohteen brändin asemointistrategiaa.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
While reaching the final stage of my studies at LUT and writing the last words to this Master’s Thesis, I would like to thank everyone who supported me with my studies and provided guid- ance to finish this thesis.
I would like to thank the interviewees for their time to participate in this study and share their insights even in the middle of the challenging times due to the Covid-19 related travel re- strictions.
I would like to thank my supervisor for all the feedback and opinions on the ideas which I presented.
I would like to thank my family and friends for their support throughout my studies, and espe- cially for encouraging me to study a second degree.
In Seinäjoki, 30th July 2020 Eveliina Kantamaa
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction ... 1
1.1 Background of the study ... 2
1.2 Research objectives and questions ... 4
1.3 Previous research ... 5
1.4 Theoretical framework ... 12
1.5 Definitions of the key concepts ... 13
1.6 Delimitations ... 14
1.7 Research Methodology ... 15
1.8 Structure of the study ... 16
2. Literature review ... 17
2.1 Destination marketing and branding ... 17
2.1.1 Destination brand identity ... 22
2.1.2 Destination brand image ... 24
2.2 Social media in destination marketing ... 26
2.2.1 eWOM in destination marketing ... 30
2.3 Influencer marketing ... 32
2.3.1 Two-step flow of communication theory ... 36
2.3.2. Social media influencers in destination marketing ... 38
3. Research design and methodology ... 40
3.1 Qualitative multiple case study ... 40
3.2 Data collection and analysis methods ... 41
3.3 Reliability and validity ... 44
4. Findings ... 47
4.1 Profiles of the case DMOs ... 47
4.2 Implementing influencer marketing in DMOs ... 48
4.2.1 The role of influencer marketing in the marketing strategies of DMOs ... 48
4.2.2 Target groups of influencer marketing ... 51
4.2.3 Measuring the results of influencer marketing ... 52
4.2.4 Types of collaborations and campaigns ... 52
4.3 Communicating the destination brand through the influencers ... 55
4.3.1 Selecting the influencers ... 55
4.3.2 The content created by the influencers ... 59
5. Discussion and conclusions ... 65
5.1 Discussion ... 65
5.1.1 Utilizing influencer marketing in DMOs to reach strategic destination marketing and branding objectives ... 65
5.1.2 The role of social media influencers in developing and communicating destination brand identities ... 68
5.2 Theoretical contributions ... 74
5.3 Practical implications ... 76
5.4 Conclusions ... 78
5.5 Limitations and future research ... 80
References ... 82
Appendices ... 94
APPENDICES
Appendix 1. Interview guide.
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. Theoretical framework ... 12
Figure 2. Place promotion, marketing, branding, and development (Boisen et al. 2018). ... 17
Figure 3. Destination marketing framework (Pike & Page 2014) ... 19
Figure 4. Core components of a destination (Buhalis 2000) ... 20
Figure 5. Destination brand identity model (Konecnik Ruzzier & de Chernatony 2013) ... 24
Figure 6. Two-step flow of communication model (Katz 1957) ... 37
Figure 7. The selection of the influencers ... 55
Figure 8. The destination brand communication process ... 73
Figure 9. Summary of the main findings ... 78
LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Previous studies on destination marketing and branding on social media ... 6
Table 2. Elements of place or destination brand identities ... 23
Table 3. Profiles of the interviewees ... 42
Table 4. Characteristics of the destination brands communicated by the influencers ... 63
Table 5. Communicating the dimensions of the destination brand identity ... 64
1. Introduction
Influencer marketing on social media is a common strategy for product and service brands to reach their strategic marketing objectives and support their brand efforts. Increasingly, coun- tries, regions, and cities are also adopting social media as part of their marketing strategies and collaborating with influencers in a more strategic manner. The posts on various social media platforms aiming to drive excitement and attract visitors can include a YouTuber trying local activities in a destination, blog posts with lists of recommended restaurants, Instagram pictures featuring iconic attractions making a destination popular, or podcast episodes telling stories of what can be experienced in a destination in a weekend. What makes influencers a powerful channel to share these types of marketing messages is their effect on the members of their online communities sharing similar interests (Uzunoğlu & Misci Kip 2014).
For destinations, social media has recently become an essential marketing tool with a global reach and destination management organizations (DMOs) have realized the importance of using social media in the global communication strategy of their destination brands (Fernández-Cavia et al. 2017; Huertas & Marine-Roig 2015; Uşakli et al. 2017). As partnering with influencers for content production is gaining popularity in destination marketing, DMOs are recommended to form partnerships with influencers who share their stories online and receive feedback from their wide and engaged audiences (Bokunewicz & Shulman 2017; Bosio et al. 2018; Peralta 2019).
While having a fundamental role within the marketing strategies of several product and service brands, tourism organizations responsible for marketing and branding their destinations are in- creasingly integrating social media influencers in their marketing activities and recognizing the potential of influencers to communicate their destination brands. Similarly, as product and ser- vice brands, DMOs collaborate with influencers who generate engaging content featuring their brand message on their personal social media accounts. Even though social media is an essential channel for consumers to search and engage with tourism-related information generated by us- ers, with or without an influencer status, and has strategic importance for destination marketers, prior research lack studies of influencer use in creating engaging content showcasing various elements of destination brands, which are more complex in nature compared to product and
service brands. Therefore, there is a need to advance the understanding of how influencer mar- keting can be utilized to support the strategic branding and marketing objectives in the context of tourism destinations. The main research question of this study considers how DMOs inte- grate influencer marketing as a part of their marketing strategies and implement it to create engaging content to communicate the unique elements of their respective destination brands.
1.1 Background of the study
Due to the intangible and immaterial characteristics of tourism products which are sold before consumption, social media has played a key role in travel planning for consumers for a long time as the shared experiences by peer travelers are considered valuable information sources in the decision-making process of purchasing tourism products (Amaro et al. 2016; Bilgihan et al.
2016; Bosio et al. 2018; Lund et al. 2018; Xiang & Gretzel 2010). Different platforms allow travelers to access numerous written reviews, pictures, videos, and podcasts which provide in- spiration and advice for travel related decision-making, join discussion forums, and express their own insights. Regarding the variety of sources to search for information of tourism desti- nations, social media is considered as credible and authentic, and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) has proved to influence destination trust and intention to travel as well as support tourists to form an image of a certain destination (Abubakar & Ilkan 2016; Childers et al. 2019;
Dickinger & Lalicic 2016). Therefore, an important share of tourism marketing includes mon- itoring and participating in online conversations and being part of social networks where tour- ism related eWOM is created and shared among the network participants (Benckendorff et al.
2014, 339; Lim et al. 2012).
Consisting of several stakeholders with diverse needs and various high involvement services, tourism destinations such as cities, regions, and countries are relatively complex entities which are systematically marketing themselves with methods commonly associated with marketing of products or services (Hankinson 2007; Kotsi et al. 2018). As for products and services, branding is fundamental for destinations as they strive to identify and differentiate themselves from other destinations (Ashton 2014; Kavaratzis & Ashworth 2008). Destinations have recognized that developing a positive brand image requires proactive marketing efforts and organizations such as DMOs are forced to re-establish their online identities with more relevant and competitive service offerings (Benckendorff et al. 2014, 341). Consequently, the marketing driven official websites of DMOs focus on communicating unique and distinctive destination images, whilst
promoting the attractions and offerings with a holistic approach, and aims to create appealing destination brand identities (Hankinson 2007; Huertas & Marine-Roig 2015; Költringer &
Dickinger 2015). To communicate effectively with the target audience, DMOs can also adjust their focus on other supporting organizations and actors which can directly communicate their messages to travelers, allowing them to conveniently find more relevant information (Benck- endorff et al. 2014, 341).
The tourism sector is described as a place with a relatively visible consumption, making the destination brands increasingly exposed to conversations and stories shared on social media (Lund et al. 2018). DMOs are increasingly incorporating social media for promoting attractions and special events, building brand awareness, and spreading their promotional content (Bokunewicz & Shulman 2017; Huertas et al. 2017). Being present in different channels and interacting with the potential and actual customers throughout the entire customer journey is essential for DMOs (Bosio et al. 2018). To promote the destination, DMOs are encouraged to approach media, promotional and individual social media accounts which receive substantial attention and have the potential to share content that the target audience will engage with (Bokunewicz & Shulman 2017).
Businesses and tourism destinations have increasingly recognized the power and potential of influencer marketing which uses similar tactics as word-of-mouth (WOM), contains elements of both paid and earned media, combines the gains of eWOM and celebrity endorsement, and has proven its effectiveness as a channel for brand-related eWOM. Social media influencers are valuable channels for brands to enhance awareness, drive their message to the target audiences and reach new audiences, build credibility, and generate sales and conversions. (Baker 2019;
Bokunewicz & Shulman 2017; Childers et al. 2019; De Veirman et al. 2019; Hughes et al. 2019) Capitalizing natural tendencies, emotions, and desires, influencer marketing is effective be- cause the audience tend to listen to the influencers who they trust and who are convincing sto- rytellers (Hoos 2019). However, influencer marketing of tourism products is significantly dif- ferent compared to other products or services. Because the buying process is relatively long, the fans, followers and subscribers must be reached systematically through several touch points over a period of weeks and months instead of posting a single picture of the featured destination (Travelmindset 2020).
1.2 Research objectives and questions
The purpose of this thesis is to increase the knowledge of how DMOs are implementing influ- encer marketing on social media as a destination marketing tool to communicate their destina- tion brands and clarify the role of influencer marketing within the marketing strategies of DMOs. This thesis seeks to further the understanding of the approaches and practices of how DMOs implement influencer marketing to reach their strategic objectives regarding marketing and branding of destinations. The objective of this thesis is to elaborate upon the effectiveness of the content generated by social media influencers in identifying and communicating destina- tion brands. Overall, this thesis is expected to make theoretical and practical contributions to the understanding of influencer marketing on social media within the context of cities as tour- ism destinations from the perspective of DMOs.
Based on the explained research objectives, the main research question of this thesis is:
How do destination management organizations implement influencer marketing on social me- dia to communicate their destination brands?
To answer the main research question, two sub-questions were developed to identify the role of influencer marketing within the marketing strategies of DMOs, to increase the understanding of how DMOs can reach their strategic marketing objectives through collaborating with social media influencers, and to determine the extent to which collaborating with influencers add value to the marketing communications of DMOs. The second sub-question was directed to identify how the influencers participate in the co-creation process of the destination brands through their generated content and how the influencers can enhance the development and communication of the distinctive characteristics identified with destination brands. The sub-questions are:
1. How do the collaborations with social media influencers support destination management organizations to reach their strategic marketing and branding objectives?
2. How does the content generated by social media influencers enhance developing and com- municating the destination brand identity?
1.3 Previous research
A growing body of studies on place branding has been in development. Recently, the impact and potential of social media in branding of destinations has increasingly been discussed in academic literature. This section reviews the existing literature on branding of places and des- tinations online, social media, and influencer marketing on the tourism domain. In addition, this section identifies areas of further research, to which this study contributes to.
Academic literature on marketing and branding of destinations and places considers various domains including geography, urban planning, and tourism. The research in the field of busi- ness and management prefers the term “place branding”, whereas in tourism literature, “desti- nation branding” is more commonly used to describe the same concept. Therefore, the consid- eration must be broadened when reviewing the previous literature. (Hanna & Rowley 2012) Prior research has examined branding of places from cities (de Jong et al. 2018; de Rosa et al.
2019; Gómez et al. 2018; Kovačić et al. 2019) to rural areas (Adeyinka-Ojo et al. 2015; Pena et al. 2013; Catrina 2016) from different perspectives, including the residents (Merrilees et al.
2018) and multiple stakeholders (Kavaratzis 2012; Kotsi et al. 2018; Saraniemi & Komppula 2017; Zenker et al. 2017). Most of the previous research, however, is conducted from the DMOs’ and consumers’ perspectives. Destination branding has been studied with the focus on different brand attributes including brand personality (Souiden et al. 2017; Vinyals-Mirabent &
Mohammadi 2018;), brand image (Mak 2017; Peralta 2019; Shankar 2019; Stylos et al. 2017), brand identity (Mueller & Schade 2019; Saraniemi & Komppula 2017), brand equity (Gómez et al. 2018), as well as the management of a destination brand (Hankinson 2007).
Prior research has investigated the use of social media in marketing and branding of destinations mainly with the focus on the travelers and user-generated content (UGC). However, there is a lack of research on the utilization of social media in destination marketing from the suppliers’
perspective. To date, there are relatively few studies on how destinations are incorporating so- cial media to reach their strategic marketing objectives. Furthermore, previous research has not comprehensively covered the extent of the use of influencer marketing by tourism organiza- tions. However, there are existing studies of the social media practices adopted by DMOs (Bosio et al. 2018; Huertas et al. 2017; Uşakli et al. 2017) as well as the use of social media influencers as endorsers to promote travel destinations, which has been studied by Xu & Pratt
(2018). Table 1 summarizes the previous studies on destination marketing and branding on social media which are the most relevant regarding this study.
Table 1. Previous studies on destination marketing and branding on social media
Gómez et al. (2018) consider branding as a useful tool for cities to gain competitive advantage.
They emphasize the importance of developing an image that visitors have of cities by focusing on conveying the unique values such as distinctive personality attributes which distinguishes each destination from its competitors. Ageeva & Foroudi (2019) suggest that a place brand should attract talents, tourists, investors, residents, and entrepreneurs as well as create an au- thentic lifestyle. Dastgerdi & De Luca (2019) propose that the city branding process should start with understanding the current image of the city and in order to strengthen the reputation of a city, the identity and the image of the city must be effectively combined. Hanna & Rowley (2012) describe place branding as a fundamental aspect of place development and management, also emphasizing the multi-faceted nature of the place brand management where stakeholder engagement and marketing communications have a central role.
Campelo et al. (2014) state that understanding the cultural characteristics and the shared mean- ings of a place which are constituted and experienced by the residents are crucial for a place branding strategy. Mueller & Schade (2012) consider the unified identity conception of the internal stakeholders of a place such as companies, residents, and associations as an essential aspect when marketing a place to relevant target groups, such as prospective tourists. As agreed by González & Lester (2018), Fernández-Cavia et al. (2018) and Saraniemi & Komppula (2017), developing and communicating a place identity require a high level of engagement of various stakeholders, and the involvement of various stakeholders with different roles is crucial as the destination brand identity emerges during the social interactions between them. Sara- niemi (2011) states that strategic and proactive identity-based branding communicates brand promises based on destination values and produces interpretations of the promise by the market.
The findings of Ageeva & Foroudi (2019) indicate that place identity is formed around tangible elements such as food, accommodation, heritage sites, architecture, transportation, town plan- ning, and intangible elements including hospitality, information for visitors, culture, history, people, practices, environment, entertainment, and security. According to the same study, a place identity is identified as the main driver of a place brand with the outcomes including place image, place brand visual identity, authentic lifestyle, and entrepreneurship.
According to Fazel & Rajendan (2015), social media has a salient role in creating an image or identity of a place because the personal and subjective opinions and perceptions brought to the online domain by the users influence how others view the place. Sevin (2016) states that effi- cient incorporation of social media provides unique opportunities for creating city brands
through engaging audiences and monitoring conversations on social platforms. The research by Uşakli et al. (2017) shows that the majority of European DMOs have official accounts on the main social media platforms: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. The findings of Fer- nández-Cavia et al. (2017) reveal that destinations have recognized the usefulness and im- portance of social media in the global communication strategy of their destination brands. Based on the type of a destination, the DMOs of cities are found to be the most successful in building relationships and engaging travelers in conversations on social media to get to know their in- terests, habits, and motivations as well as take the advantage of the comments and opinions which the travelers have shared in inspiring and attracting new visitors (Míguez & Fernández- Cavia 2015).
According to Költringer & Dickinger (2015), strong destination brand images occur when the DMO’s projected image is aligned with the stories created and shared by other information sources. However, Dickinger & Lalicic (2016) claim that consumers’ emotional perceptions of the brand may not be aligned with the destination identity. Kim & Lehto (2013) add, that des- tinations may seek to address a certain brand personality through various branding strategies and communicated messages, of which consumers can form their individual perceptions and may respond differently than the author of the message intended, which leads to differences between the projected and perceived destination personalities.
According to Saraniemi (2011), branding processes based on image building, including enhanc- ing favorable images of a destination, results in interpretation of projected images by the stake- holders. The findings of Költringer & Dickinger (2015) indicate that representations of desti- nation brand images differ among various online sources and the UGC tend to be more diverse and richer compared to online media and the content generated by DMOs. Lim et al. (2012) agree that consumer-generated content can have a remarkable and quick contribution on the destination brand image and their findings also indicate that videos generated and shared by consumers on social media do not communicate destination brands similarly as destination mar- keter-generated videos. The findings of Peralta (2019) support the previous research stating that vloggers and the content created by them and shared on Facebook influence creating a destina- tion image in online space and are essential for branding and marketing a destination. In terms of video content on social media, the findings of Huertas (2018) show that real-time live videos and 24 hours-lasting video stories outperform the travel videos of normal users because of the instant reporting and allowance of the participation of other users. Thus, those live videos and
stories have the most significant influence in generating tourist experiences as those videos are perceived to communicate the authenticity of a destination and creating interesting and attrac- tive perceptions of the featured destination (Huertas 2018).
DMOs use social media to develop their destination images with content showcasing natural, cultural, and historical attractions as well as local cuisine and recreation facilities. Most fre- quently, the content created and shared by DMOs is photos instead of videos, and the posts creating the highest level of customer engagement are Instagram and Facebook posts. (Uşakli et al. 2017) Based on an analysis of DMOs’ Twitter networks, Bokunewicz & Shulman (2017) identified media and promotional accounts including other DMOs and individuals such as au- thors and photographers, as the most influential in promoting the marketing efforts of DMOs, as they receive significant attention and engage highly in sharing information. Huertas et al.
(2017) found that DMOs often use YouTube to communicate the promotional videos of their respective destinations without utilizing the full potential of the interactive nature of the plat- form as the videos tend to be mainly informative communicating the attraction factors without the presence of emotional values associated with the destination. In turn, Lalicic et al. (2019) state that if an extensive set of brand values are involved in the online communications of DMOs, the users only tend to respond to specific values aligned with their image and self- congruity.
Huertas & Marine-Roig (2015) state that tourism organizations often lack communication strat- egies to communicate their associated brand values that differentiate their represented destina- tions from others on social media. The findings of Jabreel et al. (2018) support this by stating that DMOs lack clear brand communication and differentiation strategies, and they tend not to focus on emotional values in their brand communication on social media, whereas the residents’
posts consist of a more diverse set of adjectives conveying emotional values attached with the destination. Dickinger & Lalicic (2016) state that emphasizing the generated feelings and the competences to provide the visitors with unique experiences, relationships, meanings, and self- expressions in positioning a destination can result in competitive advantage. Their findings also indicate that social media is a relatively appropriate environment for tourism organizations to gain insights about the affective attributes related to their represented destinations and the con- sumers’ emotional attachment to the destination. Aligning with these findings, the research conducted by Mak (2017) reveals that travel-generated textual content tends to outperform the content created by tourism organizations in reflecting affective destination images, whereas
photographs were more effective in embodying affective destination image attributes. Accord- ing to Huertas & Marine-Roig (2015), the most destination-specific themes and attributes gen- erate the most user reactions and interactivity on social media as well as communication of emotional brand values and unique elements associated with a destination triggers reactions from the users. Supporting these findings, the study of Papadimitriou et al. (2018) indicate that emotional attachment and the evaluations related to the feel and atmosphere of a city are the elements that make cities perceived as desirable and unique destinations. As argued by Veasna et al. (2013), the critical antecedents of destination satisfaction are emotional attachment, des- tination image, and source credibility of the specific communication context referring to the trustworthiness that the destination can deliver its promises.
UGC has been noticed as valuable for informing decision makers, educating tourism consum- ers, and facilitating tourism transactions (Akehurst 2009). As consumer to consumer commu- nications online, such as travel forums and blogs, contribute to destination image and travel planning, destinations are suggested to include blogs as part of their marketing communications mix as the characteristics of bloggers and their trips influence the destination image which can be formed in their blog content (Wenger 2008). According to Martin & Woodside (2011), blog posts about travel experiences can be referred to as storytelling reports created and shared by visitors and often consisting of photographs with explanations. These blog posts capture what the authors consider meaningful to report and serve as signs for a unique and outstanding posi- tioning of the destination in the minds of prospective visitors. Bassano et al. (2019) also em- phasize the effect of digital storytelling on social networks such as blogs in defining the identity and improving the reputation of tourism services as well as communicating the experiential value of a place.
Combining the advantages of eWOM and celebrity endorsement, influencer marketing is con- sidered as remarkably credible WOM compared to advertising because of the perceived authen- ticity of influencers (De Veirman et al. 2019). Referring to the findings of Jiménez-Castillo &
Sánchez-Fernández (2019), when followers are influenced by influencers, they generate en- gagement with the endorsed brands, build expectations of value, and develop purchase inten- tions. Lim et al. (2012) state that having few celebrities or active uploaders with relatively many followers are critical for successful branding strategies on social media because identifying the popular accounts and understanding their motives, as well as encouraging them to create and share quality content of the destination, can contribute to creating the intended destination
brand. According to Stoldt et al. (2019), DMOs consider influencer marketing as a valuable marketing resource because of the ability of influencers to connect and build relationships with their audiences. Chatzigeorgiou (2017) studied the impact of influencer marketing on millenni- als’ visit intentions to rural areas and the findings show that the size of the following, the per- sonality, and perceived authenticity of the influencer contribute to the perceived trustworthiness of an influencer. Additionally, the findings of Xu & Pratt (2018) indicate that the congruence between social media influencers and destinations have a positive impact on the attitudes to- wards advertisements and visit intentions. However, the selected influencers should express and share values as well as possess characteristics which are aligned with those of the target customers (Xu & Pratt 2018).
As the conducted review of previous research reveals, the use of social media in marketing and branding of destinations from the perspective of consumers is a relatively well studied topic.
Hence, to conduct this study, the perspective of DMOs was considered relevant as the existing literature does not provide a consensus on the extent to which destinations adopt social media in constructing and communicating their identities and brands. The prior research on social media and UGC in the tourism context has primarily focused on normal users ignoring the commercial accounts; on influencers who have a substantial number of followers or subscribers, and the required resources to create professional content, build and guide a discussion, and engage their audiences. The existing literature focusing on DMOs has noticed the importance to adopt various social media platforms as effective communication channels, but the practices and strategies of how influencer marketing is effectively implemented in DMOs has not been studied. As discussed in this section, brand values, which have a key role in differentiating destinations from others, are weakly present in the destination brand related communications by DMOs, whereas the UGC, which tend to articulate brand values and emotional attachment to a destination, is more clearly present. However, prior research has not covered to what extent influencers collaborating with DMOs contribute to differentiating destinations from others with their content on social media and how DMOs are implementing influencer marketing to com- municate their brands and identities to generate the desired image among their audiences.
Therefore, there is a research gap to understand how DMOs can incorporate influencer market- ing within their marketing strategies and how the content created by influencers can reinforce the creation and communication of destination brands. This study attempts to bridge this gap
and examine the collaborations of DMOs and social media influencers in marketing and brand- ing of destinations as well as increase the understanding of the role of the content created and shared by influencers in formulating and communicating the destination identities and brands.
1.4 Theoretical framework
This section presents the theoretical framework (Figure 1) which will be used in this study. The framework describes the characteristics of a destination brand and the development and com- munication of a unique destination brand identity through social media influencers.
Figure 1. Theoretical framework
The formation of a destination brand identity is considered as an evolving process where the stakeholders from both supply and demand as well as internal and external sides are involved (Saraniemi 2011). The destination brand identity forms the base and provides the strategic guid- ance for the brand communication, but it also can be shaped by the communication, allow the development of a positive image among the audience, the opportunity to associate and recog- nize the users with specific emotional brand values, and the potential to generate visit intentions.
(Fernández-Cavia et al. 2018; Huertas & Marine-Roig 2015).
The communication considers both tangible and intangible characteristics and cognitive and emotional values associated with the destination brand which stem from the brand identity. The interactive characteristics of social media platforms allow the influencers to communicate and engage their audiences in a way which is meaningful to them, create relevant content to differ- entiate the destination from others, and create impressions in the minds of the target groups.
The communication between the influencers and consumers reflects the two-step flow of com- munication theory where the influencer is considered as an opinion leader delivering the mes- sage of the original sender in his or her own online social networks (Katz 1957).
1.5 Definitions of the key concepts
In this section, the main concepts which will be used in this study will be defined.
Destination management organizations (DMOs) are the leading organizations being respon- sible for coordinating activities to ensure the competitiveness and sustainability of tourism des- tinations. DMOs have a key role in the developing and managing tourism at a destination level which can vary between national, regional, and local levels as well as encompassing the various stakeholders in a destination to build and facilitate relationships towards a common destination vision. Typically, the main function of a DMO is to proceed the marketing activities to increase the number of visitors in a destination. (Jabreel et al. 2018; UNWTO 2019b; UNWTO 2020) The marketing and management functions of DMOs include destination marketing, branding and positioning, destination planning, strategy building, monitoring and assessment, relation- ship formulation, and visitor management (Kaleji et al. 2017; Reinhold et al. 2019).
Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) refers to online consumer-to-consumer interactions about brands whereas user-generated-content (UGC) is a broader term which refers to content which is produced and uploaded by consumers (Muntinga et al. 2011).
Influencer marketing is a social media marketing method where brands employ influencers to market their products or services on various social media platforms. Social media influencers are leading online personas and content creators who have a status of expertise, a loyal social following who trust and engage with them regularly, and who are of marketing value to brands.
(Baker 2019; Childers et al. 2019; Lou & Yuan 2019)
Places can be understood as socially constructed products created and produced by people and their actions as well as redefined and reinterpreted via both spoken and written language. Hence, the nature of a place is constantly evolving and influenced by the actions of people. (Warnaby
& Medway 2013) The destination concept refers to a combination of tourism products, amen- ities, and services such as accommodation, transportation, and entertainment as well as public goods including landscape, scenery, and atmosphere which are individually produced and con- sumed under the same destination brand name (Buhalis 2000). In this study, places and desti- nations are used as synonyms referring to a geographic location such as a city which can be marketed and managed in a systematic and strategic manner.
Place brands and destination brands are used as synonyms in this study. As stated by Hanna and Rowley (2012), place branding has its roots in tourism and its literature. However, the interest towards places as brands has grown in business and management literature which pre- fers the terms place and location whereas destination is a more commonly used term in research within the field of tourism. A place brand has been understood to include tourism and thus, the definition of place branding must be extended to consider also destination branding which is a related concept. (Gnoth 2002; Hanna & Rowley 2012)
A visitor is a person who travels to a main destination which is located outside his or her ordi- nary environment for less than a year and for any purpose except becoming a resident in the visited country or place. If the trip includes an overnight stay, a visitor is categorized as a tour- ist. A traveler is understood as a wider concept as the definition considers movement between different geographic locations for any purpose and duration of stay. (UNWTO 2019a) In this study, visitor, tourist, and traveler are used as synonyms.
1.6 Delimitations
Place brands and their images as well as the branded images of cities exist for several purposes, such as places to live or invest in, and therefore, the function of a place brand is not only to attract tourists but also several other profiles (Vinyals-Mirabent & Mohammadi 2018). Hence, it is crucial for a place brand to be malleable as its form transfers when it is directed at different stakeholders such as residents or tourists (de Chernatony 2010, 122). This study will focus on marketing and branding of cities for tourism purposes.
Even though DMOs can consider UGC as a valuable asset and leverage it in their online com- munication strategies, this study will focus on the content which is created by the social media influencers with whom DMOs have formed collaborative relationships and therefore, the gen- erated content is sponsored by the DMOs. This study will address the destination brand com- munication through the influencers from the suppliers’ perspective and will focus on how social media influencers can enhance the development and communication of destination brands and reflect the destination brand identities in their communications. Therefore, the consumers’ per- spective has been left out of this study.
1.7 Research Methodology
Distinct phenomena which are characterized by the absence of comprehensive preliminary re- search can be approached with exploratory research (Mills et al. 2010, 372). Due to the present lack of understanding of the research problem, exploratory research is considered as an ade- quate approach to conduct this study.
A qualitative multiple case study strategy is employed to examine influencer marketing in DMOs, where six DMOs in the Nordic and Baltic countries operating at a city level represent the cases. A case study is considered as an ideal strategy for international business research where the data is collected from cross-border and cross-cultural settings; in a multiple case study, the research questions will be studied in several organizations which will then be com- pared before drawing the conclusions (Marschan-Piekkari & Welch 2004, 111; 114). In case studies, the focus is on a modern phenomenon within a real-life context (Yin 2003, 1). The uniqueness of the phenomenon is in the center of interest and the cases are considered as in- struments to examine that certain phenomenon in its completeness (Eriksson & Kovalainen 2008, 120; Thomas & Myers 2015, 7). The focus of this study is on the phenomenon of incor- porating social media influencers in destination marketing and a multiple case study is consid- ered as a justified strategy to gain a comprehensive understanding of the practices and ap- proaches employed by DMOs of Nordic and Baltic cities. Due to the possibility of replication, richer information can be gained and more powerful conclusions can be drawn from multiple cases than from a single case (Yin 2003, 53).
A qualitative research method will be adopted because this study seeks to increase the knowledge of incorporating influencer marketing in the context of tourism destinations and aims to uncover the phenomenon from the perspective of DMOs. The research questions will
be examined through semi-structured interviews where the topics which are relevant to the re- search questions will be covered in a flexible manner, the interest will be on the respondent’s point of view, and the aim is to gain rich and detailed answers related to the research topics.
(Bryman & Bell 2015, 480-481).
As this study uses a multiple case study design, a replication logic is adopted in the selection of cases (Yin 2003, 47). The selection of the cases is based on the research objectives and the interviewees are selected with their reference to the research questions. Therefore, the inter- viewees are representatives of the DMOs of Nordic and Baltic cities who have the expertise and experience with influencer marketing within their organizations. Because of the geograph- ical distance of the informants, the interviews are conducted via video calls and by email.
1.8 Structure of the study
This thesis consists of five chapters. The introduction provides reasoning for the objectives and motivation for this study, discusses the central findings of the prior research, and explains the research objectives, questions, and the methodology. The second chapter consists of the litera- ture review addressing the theory related to marketing and branding of destinations as well as utilizing social media and influencer marketing in destination marketing. The third chapter in- troduces the research design and methodology explaining the collection and analysis of the data.
In the fourth chapter, the findings of the empirical research will be presented and explained.
The fifth chapter concludes the study and provides a more profound analysis of the findings with a reflection to the existing theory, answers to the research questions and practical implica- tions, elaborates the limitations of this study, and provides suggestions for future research.
2. Literature review
This chapter covers the literature review on destination marketing and the use of social media in destination marketing. The first section discusses destination marketing and branding, intro- ducing the concepts of destination brand identity and image. The second section addresses the use of social media and eWOM in destination marketing. Section three concentrates on influ- encer marketing, introduces the two-step flow of communication theory, and discusses the use of social media influencers in destination marketing.
2.1 Destination marketing and branding
Throughout history, places have been competing and promoting themselves to attract residents, customers, visitors, businesses, investors, and influencers (Anholt 2010; Baker & Cameron 2008; Konecnik Ruzzier & de Chernatony 2013). Since the 1990s, tourism destinations have systematically been creating brand strategies, and instead of passively relying on the organic development of their images, countries, regions and cities consider a proactive approach to marketing as necessary (Hankinson 2007; Morgan et al. 2012, 83). Place marketing, branding, promotion, and development are interrelated concepts each performing a specific function. The functions and relationships between these concepts are explained in the framework created by Boisen et al. (2018) and presented in Figure 2.
Figure 2. Place promotion, marketing, branding, and development (Boisen et al. 2018).
Place marketing aims to both recognize and respond to the existing competition between places by discovering and creating uniqueness to improve the competitive position of the marketed place (Kavaratzis & Ashworth 2008). With the goal to get the people within the selected target groups to choose the product-market combinations of the place instead of those of other places,
Place Marketing
Managing supply and demand
Place Branding
Reputation management
Place Development
Improving the place Place Promotion
Communication of offerings
place marketing is considered as demand-driven, has a customer-orientated approach, and focus on the needs of the defined target groups (Boisen et al. 2018; Zenker 2011). Similarly, as mar- keting consumer goods, tourism destinations strive to convince their target groups of their ca- pabilities to supply a combination of benefits superior to other destinations (Kaleji et al. 2017).
Tourism tends to be strongly connected to commercial marketing and the term destination branding is often linked with place branding. The shift from destination marketing to destina- tion branding has been recognized as the country or region is responsible for the overall place image whereas the private operators are in charge for marketing the specific services to the end customers. (Anholt 2010) However, tourism marketing does not only consider the practices to attract visitors to a specific destination, but also functions as a strategic mechanism to facilitate the objectives related to regional development (Buhalis 2000).
In most countries, DMOs are responsible for the development of destination brands. The suc- cess of a destination brand depends significantly on how the brand is led and managed by the respective DMO. Therefore, the main functions of DMOs include establishing an explicit brand vision and developing a consistent set of brand values, linking positive aspects of the place’s heritage to a vision of what realistically can be achieved in the future. (Hankinson 2007) DMOs also support and facilitate the management of the place brand and maintain the communication with the consumers and the whole tourism system (Morgan et al. 2012, 6). However, DMOs are often unable to control the marketing activities of individual actors, and therefore, their function is to guide and coordinate the marketing practices instead of proceeding an encom- passing marketing strategy (Buhalis 2000). Unlike commercial brands, DMOs cannot be re- garded as owning the place product even though they are committed with marketing and brand- ing efforts of their respective destination (Skinner 2018). In their branding efforts, DMOs aim to communicate the destinations and their offerings by incorporating a holistic approach and emotional appeal (Költringer & Dickinger 2015). As identified by Pike and Page (2014), the main goal of DMOs is sustained destination competitiveness which requires resources with potential sources of comparative advantage and effective destination management. Destination competitiveness refers also to the sustainable and responsible use of local resources which se- cures the maintenance of long-term success and the reach of reasonable returns on the utilized resources satisfying the involved stakeholders (Buhalis 2000). However, as claimed by Pike &
Page (2014), it is important to notice that even though destinations compete with each other in the competitive global markets, DMOs do not hold a competitive position and therefore, do not
compete with other DMOs. Figure 3 presents the destination marketing framework created by Pike and Page (2014) which explains the role of DMOs in destination marketing.
Figure 3. Destination marketing framework (Pike & Page 2014)
A place brand is the sum of meanings which has been given to a geographic area by relevant stakeholders and it is formed by the interaction of culture, identity, and image which are present in the actions and practices of the place brand (González et al. 2018; Pedeliento & Kavaratzis 2019; Sevin 2016). Even though place brands differ from product and service brands, there are similarities between corporate branding and place branding as both have diversified origins, address the needs of several stakeholder groups, are highly intangible and complex, consider social responsibility, hold multiple identities, and require development in the long-term; thus, several insights can be drawn from corporate marketing to implement place marketing (Kavaratzis & Ashworth 2008; Kotsi et al. 2018). As brands in general, destination brands are employed for two fundamental functions: identification and differentiation (Qu et al. 2011).
However, compared to product brands, place brands are more complex as they tend to express numerous offerings, experiences, facilities and services (including events), and activities com- bined with the physical features of the place such as buildings, spaces, architecture, culture, and history of the local people (Morgan et al. 2012, 83).
Buhalis (2000) elaborates the complex nature of destination brands with a framework of six As (Figure 4) presenting the core components which most destinations comprise. The main chal- lenge in marketing of places is the fragmentation of ownership as the tourism product is created by various organizations of varying sizes and therefore, the marketers face various groups of stakeholders and target groups (Baker & Cameron 2008; Kavaratzis 2004). The most important stakeholders contributing to the financial success of the DMOs are the tourism attractions, ac- commodation businesses, restaurants, museums, and businesses which comprise the destina- tions and benefit directly from tourism the DMOs generate (Bokunewicz & Shulman 2017).
Furthermore, the product of a place is not only co-produced by several independent public and private organizations and service providers but also co-consumed by different consumers for different interests and purposes (Gnoth 2002; Hankinson 2007; Zenker & Martin 2011).
Figure 4. Core components of a destination (Buhalis 2000)
Place branding refers to the process of creating the brand of a given place by forming its identity and promoting the establishment of a positive place image (Anholt 2010). As stated by Kavarat- zis and Hatch (2013), place branding is understood to have three main roles: to determine the place identity, to identify ways of how the defined place identity is pertinent to multiple audi- ences, and to subsequently endeavor to convince these audiences. Successful and effective des- tination branding requires the participation of a network of stakeholders, including large and small businesses, which contribute to the formation of a destination brand through a collective and organized process (Hankinson 2007). A strong and distinctive destination brand can con- tribute to the attitudes and perceptions of consumers on the pre-purchase stage of their decision- making process. Therefore, destination branding has an integral role influencing the behaviors and intentions of consumers. (Kim & Lehto 2013) For destinations, branding has become crit- ical especially because of competition, consumer behavior, and substitutability (Baker & Cam- eron 2008).
Branding provides destination marketers an opportunity to communicate the central attributes associated with their respective place to their target audience (Morgan et al. 2002). Blain et al.
(2005) define destination branding as a set of marketing activities which support the creation of a name, symbol, logo, or other graphic sign identifying and differentiating a destination which consistently express the expectations of a unique travel experience, contributing to es- tablish the emotional connection between the visitor and the destination; and which lower the search costs and perceived risk of a consumer. In defining destination branding, Cai (2002) emphasizes selecting a consistent mix of elements such as name, term, logo, symbol, slogan, or a combination of these to identify and distinguish the destination through building a favorable image. However, the name of a destination brand is typically determined by the geographical name and history and therefore, it is a built-in tag which can increase or decrease the value similarly as a product brand can do (Cai 2002; Gómez et al. 2018; Kotsi et al. 2018).
A place brand can also be understood as a network of associations in the minds of people (Sevin 2016). As emphasized by Zenker (2011), a place brand does not refer to the physics of a place or the communicated expression but the perception of those expressions in the minds of the target groups. In addition to the identifying and distinguishing visible elements, destination brand differentiates itself with its special meaning and attachment perceived individually by consumers (Qu et al. 2011). Identifying the brand values, adapting them into an emotionally appealing personality, and communicating the brand message efficiently to the intended target
audiences are crucial in creating a strong and sustainable destination brand, as the most suc- cessfully performing destination brands convey rich emotional meanings, have a high level of conversation value, and hold high expectations in the minds of potential tourists (Morgan et al.
2002). Furthermore, the social and cultural capital, including the environment and natural fea- tures, have a central role in conveying the values and attributes representing the attractiveness of a place for the destination brand (Campelo et al. 2014). Focusing on the physical properties and developing the relationship between an individual and a certain destination as well as iden- tifying and emphasizing the unique values which distinguish a destination from others are con- sidered especially important when creating branding strategies for cities, because modern cities tend to have similar attributes (De Noni et al. 2018).
2.1.1 Destination brand identity
Destination branding is used to communicate a unique destination identity by differentiating a destination from other destinations (Qu et al. 2011). As claimed by Kavaratzis and Hatch (2013), the formation of a place brand has its roots in a dialogue between various stakeholders and place identity should be viewed as a complex process of identity formation instead of a result of such process. Kladou et al. (2017) argue that the dominant approach understands des- tination brands as relatively static entities and emphasizes the symbolic brand elements, such as logos and slogans, to communicate the brand identity of a destination whereas the identity- based approach considers the traits and characteristics of a destination as more important. The dominant static view considers identity as a concept which should be defined, reformed, and manipulated. Therefore, the result of this identity-definition process will function as the basis for the communication attempts of the place brand. (Kavaratzis and Hatch 2013) Boisen et al.
(2018) state that place branding is an identity-driven process representing an inside-out ap- proach which aims to convey selected values and narratives of the focal place to sustain and develop the reputation of the place. Kavaratzis and Hatch (2013) claim that effective place branding has a central role in the process of identity construction as it functions as a tool to express the cultural characteristics associated with the place, leaves impressions on others, and mirrors these impressions on the identity, reflects the cultural understandings, and applies these reflections into the identity dialogue. Fernández-Cavia et al. (2018) stress the communicational aspect of branding as it emphasizes identity-related acts and management of representations, and claims that if an identity is viewed to have a central role in branding, then it is critical to acknowledge how people feel connected to places and how places change.
In academic literature on place and destination branding, there are various definitions for the formation of place and destination brand identities (Table 2). According to some authors, the definition of a place brand identity considers a more comprehensive set of elements, some em- phasize the visual characteristics whereas some have included the aspect of communication in their definitions. As stated by Zenker (2011), the place identity is formed by the visual, verbal, and behavioral expressions, which are critical to measure especially, because the place identity contributes to the perceptions of the target groups.
Table 2. Elements of place or destination brand identities
As stated by Hankinson (2007), a place product is co-produced by several independent organi- zations as well as customers in a destination. Similarly, the destination brand identity is co- created by the interactions between stakeholders of supply and demand, and therefore, it is not fixed or completed but an evolving process which develops over time (Saraniemi 2011; Sara- niemi & Komppula 2019). However, the core identity of the destination should remain con- sistent to ensure the success of the destination branding practices in the long run. Thus, it is important that the destinations regularly monitor the destination image and evaluate how the projected image is adopted by the visitors. (Qu et al. 2011) As the projected destination image stems from the destination identity, the marketing communications of the DMOs have a central role in influencing the perceived destination image (Mak 2017).
A destination brand consists of tangible elements including iconic landmarks and natural at- tractions and intangible characteristics including the general atmosphere and culture. As stated
Author & Year The core elements of destination or place brand identity
Pike & Page (2014) Values, Key competitors, Positioning statement, Key attributes, Benefits, Target audience
Zenker (2011) Place communication, Place physics, Place
word-of-mouth
Konecnik Ruzzier & de Chernatony (2013) Vision, Mission, Values, Personality, Distinguishing preferences, Benefits Taecharungroj (2019) Place physics, Place practices, Place
personality
by Qu et al. (2011), due to the complex nature of destination brands, it is necessary to generalize the identity, because generalizing and defining the desirable characteristics explain how the destination expects the brand to be perceived by the target customers. Konecnik Ruzzier & de Chernatony (2013) have proposed a model for building a place identity drawn from the concepts from marketing, tourism, and sociological literature. The model presented in Figure 5 consists of six elements interacting through the functional and emotional values of a place brand to deliver a brand promise: mission and vision to provide the place brand the direction considering the trends in the macro-environment; values stemming from the place’s culture, history, and geography shared among the main stakeholders; personality relating to the people constituting and living the brand; distinguishing preferences including attractions and unique attributes which position the place in relation to its competitors, and benefits referring to the advantages which the place is perceived to offer (Konecnik Ruzzier & de Chernatony 2013). As argued by Huertas and Marine-Roig (2015), attraction factors refer to the interest factors whereas emo- tional values refer to the values which represent the personalities of destinations.
Figure 5. Destination brand identity model (Konecnik Ruzzier & de Chernatony 2013) 2.1.2 Destination brand image
After the recognition of the identity of a place, it transfers into a promise and expectations, and finally into an image. The place image is considered as strong when most people perceive the
place associations similarly and the place image is positive when the associations are perceived as affirmative. (Boisen et al. 2018) Establishing a strong and distinctive destination image is strongly related to the success of a destination as it functions as a moderator influencing con- sumer behavior and it should be viewed as the goal of the destination branding efforts (Qu et a.
2011). According to Kavaratzis (2004), the city’s image is the goal of city marketing as devel- oping the brand of the city begins with the city’s image.
Produced and developed over time through media and WOM, the place image influences the perceptions of consumers who do not have a personal experience of the place (De Noni et al.
2018). However, the destination image does not only influence the decision-making processes of travelers who have not visited a certain destination but also enhances loyalty among those who already have visited the destination (Llodra-Riera et al. 2015). Similarly, as brand image provides functional and symbolic benefits to consumers, destination image encompasses the cognitive factors referring to an individual’s own beliefs and knowledge about the destination as well as emotional factors referring to the feelings of individuals about the destination (Beerli
& Martín 2004; Kim & Lehto 2013). As argued by Mak (2017), the cognitive component is an antecedent of the affective one and the combination of these form an overall destination image.
To attract visitors, destinations should aim to create a strong and favorable brand image based on the unique, cognitive, and affective associations (Qu et al. 2011). Llodra-Riera et al. (2015) claim that the success of destinations is determined by the creation of promotion strategies in- fluenced by the understanding of the destination image.
Destination brand image and brand identity are closely related to each other. The brand identity projected by the destination marketers forms the base for the destination image which consum- ers individually build in their minds. Thus, the brand identity should be established and en- hanced based on the marketers’ understanding of the brand image which the consumers hold of the destination. Hence, it is crucial to create a positive and distinctive brand identity as a positive brand image can be obtained through stressing distinctive associations which create desirable feelings towards the destination brand among the consumers, and therefore, distinguishes the destination from others with its unique image. (Qu et al. 2011) The destination image is a mul- tidimensional concept influenced by numerous factors. According to Beerli & Martín (2004), the dimensions and attributes defining the perceived destination image are: natural resources, general infrastructure, tourist infrastructure, tourism and leisure recreation, culture, history and
art, political and economic factors, natural environment, social environment, and the atmos- phere of the place.
The destination brand identity forms the base for the acts of communicating a place. Simulta- neously, the identity itself can be considered as a communication project as it gives the strategic direction for the communication. As well, the communication serves as an input in the process of designing the identity. (Fernández-Cavia et al. 2018) In the context of cities, Kavaratzis (2004) states that messages about the image of a city are communicated by all the components that the city comprises, all the events that occur in the city, and everything that is done by the city. The communication can be identified and classified into three levels. The primary level of communication relates to the tangible elements, such as landscape and infrastructure, social infrastructure, community development, vision of the city leaders, and culture. The secondary communication level considers the formal intentional communication, including various types of marketing practices. A strong emphasis on this communication is the content which refers to the communicative value of the city as there must be something that makes the promotion in- teresting and is aligned with the reality of the city. Therefore, cities should have communicative competence which is both an objective and an outcome of the branding process. The tertiary communication level contains communication which is not in the marketers’ control, such as WOM. (Kavaratzis 2004) However, it should be noticed that the destination image in the minds of consumers does not only result from the communication and advertising campaigns of the destination but also the content of social media which enables the interaction and creation of dialogues between the users (Jabreel et al. 2018). Therefore, the secondary and tertiary com- munication levels, as described by Kavaratzis (2004), indicate the potential for destination mar- keters to utilize social media in their marketing communications with their own content as well as taking the advantage of the UGC on various platforms. As stated by Beerli & Martín (2004), the formation of a destination image is based on primary and secondary information sources and personal factors including motivation, traveling experience, and socio-demographic char- acteristics.
2.2 Social media in destination marketing
Since its inception, social media has grown significantly with remarkable impacts on marketing as well as the decision-making processes of consumers (Lindsey-Mullikin & Borin 2017). So- cial media has several advantages for destination marketing as it enables an interactive and
